Chapter 200: Chapter 199: All Approved
After a decade of arduous studying, who doesn’t dream of passing the imperial examination in one attempt, bringing glory to their family, and soaring to great heights?
So students have long been prepared for this, eagerly awaiting the day to shine brilliantly in the examinations, but just when their spirits were high, suddenly soone tells you, you needn’t bother, you won’t pass. Is this not like having a bucket of ice water dumped over your head, chilling you to the core?
Standing before Qin Liuxi, the scholar nad Lin An thought exactly this and imdiately his face fell, filled with annoyance, and he silently cursed his bad luck.
He glanced at Qin Liuxi and then at her companion, Yu Changkong, noticing the slightly curled and slightly cracked calloused hands, he attempted to hide them.
The two in front of him, judging solely by their attire, were clearly not ordinary individuals, and their distinguished and noble deanor especially could not be compared with soone of a poor scholarly background like himself.
Was this young master mocking him because he found the days boring and decided to make a joke out of him?
Lin An, wary of their statuses, didn’t dare to make a scene loudly and suppressed his anger, saying, “Young master, please don’t make fun of . If I have displeased you by blocking your way, I will make ands with an apology.”
As he spoke, he stepped back and gave a deep bow to Qin Liuxi.
Qin Liuxi laughed, turning to Yu Changkong, saying, “He thinks we’re playboys. I never thought I had the potential to be taken as a playboy.”
Yu Changkong: It’s not , it’s you!
And, what is with this child seeming proud of it?
Lin An was already struggling to hold back his emotions, and as he walked past her, Qin Liuxi then said, “I didn’t say those unlucky words just because you were in my way.”
Lin An paused in his steps.
“Although you’ve beco a scholar, you co from a poor family with scant resources. I see the callouses on your fingers, indicating you often copy books to earn so small money. Logically, with the title of scholar, copying books to make so money should suffice for daily expenses. However, the scent of dicine on you, the furrowed brows, and the signs of evil spirits and mourners in your parental palace suggest diseases affecting your parents, and your Sun Star having fallen indicates the loss of your father. Therefore, it must be your mother who is currently ill, am I correct?”
Lin An’s face turned pale, his fingertips trembling.
“The scent of dicine on you likely cos from boiling redies for your mother. The money you earn from copying books barely covers the dicine expenses. Financial difficulties along with concerns for your mother’s health are the reasons behind your distressed expression. I said you will not pass the examination because the presence of evil spirits and the Mourner’s Star in your parental palace suggest your mother might not live to see you glorify your family na.”
Yu Changkong listened and looked across at him, his eyes showing a flash of sympathy, which quickly disappeared.
“The sorrow of a child willing to provide care but whose parents are not there to receive it is a profound grief. If you were to wear mourning clothes, how could you possibly go to sit the exams? And if you did go, with your mind preoccupied, how could you possibly pass?”
Lin An staggered, his lips trembling as he said: “A child should not discuss strange forces and gods; you, you’re spouting nonsense. If you want to scold , just scold directly, why must you bring my mother into this?”
“Whether I intentionally brought it up or whether what I said was true, you know in your heart.” Qin Liuxi took a peace charm out from her sleeve and handed it over, “Your mother is exhausted, her days are limited. This peace charm, if worn on her, will make her last days a bit more comfortable, at least she won’t suffer too much from the illness. Consider this a small blessing from our encounter today.”
Lin An did not take it, so Qin Liuxi placed it on a nearby book and added, “Scholar, if you take the examination again in three years, you will surely pass. And your sister, make sure in the future she does not marry far, especially to a family by the water.”
After hearing this, Lin An trembled again, finding himself unable to speak.
Qin Liuxi had already ascended the staircase with Yu Changkong, and they quickly disappeared around the corner of the building.
Lin An looked at the peace charm in the book, his eyes hot and teary. He took a deep breath, gripped the peace charm, and bid farewell to Mr. Wang.
Yu Changkong asked Qin Liuxi, “The scholar’s mother just now, is she incurable?”
Qin Liuxi replied, “From the scent of dicine on him, I can distinguish a few herbs; they are all for soothing the nerves and preserving health, with conservative treatnt as the main approach. There’s also one being mountain ginseng. Seeing the patches on his clothes, it’s clear his family is not well-off. Although mountain ginseng is not as expensive as ginseng, it’s still costly and not affordable for ordinary families.”
She slowly ascended the stairs, continuing, “Judging by such herbs, once he can no longer afford them, he is just waiting for death. If you ask whether it can be cured, it’s hard to say without seeing the patient, but looking at his face, he is not far from losing his mother. Li City is about to enter winter, and an old woman, already frail and depending on dicine to survive, will et her end if the weather changes and she can’t get her dicine.”
Qin Liuxi lowered her eyes and said, “Such a life, even if snatched back, won’t last long; why bother? The living are lodged here, the dead return to the earth; sotis, a body that suffers imnsely is better off liberated.”
Her tone was slightly harsh yet also carried a sense of indifference towards life and death.
Yu Changkong sighed deeply.
anwhile, Lin An, distraught, returned to his small courtyard clutching several books. Seeing the courtyard sowhat in disorder, he panicked and shouted, “Ni’er.”
“Brother, you’re back.” A thin, petite girl with slightly dry and yellowish hair dressed in coarse clothes walked out from the house.
“What’s with this ss? Where’s Mother?”
Lin Ni’s face fell, and she pursed her lips, “Mr. Zhu and his family ca. They said this year’s harvest was diocre, and Mr. Zhu is getting married, so they asked us to repay our debts.”
Lin An also pursed his lips, looked her up and down, and asked, “Are you hurt?”
Lin Ni shook her head, “Mother handed over the silver hairpin that was kept for ergencies.”
“That was supposed to be for you,” Lin An said, anxious.
Lin Ni bitterly smiled, “Brother, what’s there to keep? We are in debt, and mother needs money for her dicine.” Seeing Lin An’s distressed look, she quickly added, “Don’t worry too much, just focus on your studies. Aunt Jiang next door has already found so work laundering clothes.”
Lin An looked down at his little sister’s hands, rougher than his, not knowing quite how to feel.
Inside the house, a woman’s voice ca through. Lin An hurried in, only to see an old, emaciated woman lying in bed, trying to sit up as he entered.
“Mother, don’t move,” Lin An rushed to help her up.
Aunt Lin coughed a few tis, “Mr. Zhu ca. The silver hairpin was worth five pieces of silver, and I handed it over… cough, cough…”
Lin An quickly soothed her back, “Mother, no more talking, it’s done. I’ll copy more books and pay them back as soon as possible.”
Aunt Lin shook her head, “I’m not going to make it. It’s you and Ni’er who suffer. Mr. Zhu ntioned his great-aunt has a good eligible bachelor at the south, a fisherman who makes a few Silver a year, and he wants to set Ni’er up with him…”
Lin An’s head buzzed—the distant marriage, the fisherman’s family—it all made sense!
But that wasn’t even the main point; if what that young master said was true, and she said he would lose his mother, would his mother not…?
Lin An felt a great anguish in his chest, knelt down, grasped his mother’s hands, and tears stread down.
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